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VW's Audi aims to launch two electric vehicles by 2018-CEO in paper

Volkswagen's premium Audi division aims to bring two purely electric vehicles to market by 2018 as it tries to catch up with rivals such as Tesla Motors and BMW.

PHOTO: REUTERS

[FRANKFURT] Volkswagen's premium Audi division aims to bring two purely electric vehicles to market by 2018 as it tries to catch up with rivals such as Tesla Motors and BMW.

Audi's Chief Executive Rupert Stadler told German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) in an interview to be published on Saturday that the launch of an electric sports car and a sports activity vehicle (SAV) were under way.

An excerpt of the article was made available to Reuters on Friday.

The SAV would be a four-wheel drive with a range of more than 500 km (310 miles) per battery load, Mr Stadler said.

He also told FAZ that Audi's push to develop electronic drive and digital technologies would mean the division adding 2 billion euros (US$2.4 billion) to its investments by 2019. Audi's investment budget through 2018 amounts to 22 billion.